The political and social commentaries of a man who embraces and loves life. Politics, Economics, Civil Liberties, Freedom, Nautical events, Sports, Culture, and International affairs thrown in. I am probably best described as a "fiercely independent contrarian environmentally conscious libertarian." Just when you think you have me pigeon-holed, I'll surprise you....

Saturday, September 01, 2012

In a broadcast to the AFL-CIO merger meeting On December 5, 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said,

“You of organized labor and those who have gone before you
in the union movement have helped make a unique contribution to the
general welfare of the Republic--the development of the American
philosophy of labor. This philosophy, if adopted globally, could bring
about a world, prosperous, at peace, sharing the fruits of the earth
with justice to all men. It would raise to freedom and prosperity
hundreds of millions of men and women--and their children--who toil in
slavery behind the Curtain.
One principle of this philosophy is: the ultimate values of mankind are
spiritual; these values include liberty, human dignity, opportunity and
equal rights and justice.

Workers want recognition as human beings and as individuals-before
everything else. They want a job that gives them a feeling of
satisfaction and self-expression. Good wages, respectable working
conditions, reasonable hours, protection of status and security; these
constitute the necessary foundations on which you build to reach your
higher aims. “

When Eisenhower gave this speech in the 1950s, more than one-third of
all American workers were members of a union. Unions were largely
credited with bringing about the 40-hour work week, the 8-hour day, the
concept of a “weekend,” health coverage, pension reform, and safe
working conditions. But today, union membership in the private sector
has fallen to 7.2% While some of that is due to changes in industry
structure in the US, the single biggest factor that has contributed to
the elimination of union protections and bargaining powers is the
Taft-Hartley Act.

Passed in 1947 over the veto of President Harry Truman, the Taft-Hartley
Act (often known in labor circles as "the slave-labor bill") has been
described by Ralph Nader as "one of the great blows to American
democracy…that fundamentally infringed on workers' human rights" -- most
importantly, their right to unionize.

The includes the following provisions:

- Authorizes states to enact so-called ‘right-to-work’ laws. These laws
undermine the ability to build effective unions by creating a free-rider
problem—workers can enjoy the benefits of union membership in a
workplace without actually joining the union or paying union dues.
Right-to-work laws increase employer leverage to resist unions and
vastly decrease union membership, thus dramatically diminishing unions'
bargaining power. 23 states are currently right-to-work states, with
legislation threatening in New Hampshire and Wisconsin.

- Defines "employees" for purposes of the Act as excluding supervisors.
This diminishes the pool of workers eligible to be unionized. The
exclusion of supervisors from union organizing activity also means they
can be used (and coerced) as management's "front line" in
anti-organizing efforts; what's more, employers can fire supervisors who
try to unionize.

- Defines "employees" for purposes of the Act as excluding independent
contractors. It means that institutions such as colleges can hire
staff, often using grant funds, as ‘independent contractors,’ thus
excluding them from benefits such as health insurance and pension, and
denying them union membership and contractual benefits.

- Requires that election hearings on ‘matters of dispute’ be held before
a union recognition election, thus delaying the election; these delays
enables management to ‘buy time,’ and has been shown to give management
an advantage as over time workers feel coerced into avoiding organizing
activities.

- Establishes the "right" of management to campaign against a union
organizing drive, thereby eliminating the time-honored legal principle
of employer neutrality.

- Prohibits secondary and sympathy boycotts—boycotts directed to
encourage neutral employers to pressure a defiant employer with which
the union has a dispute. Secondary boycotts had been one of organized
labor's most potent tools for organizing, negotiating and dispute
settlement prior to the passage of Taft-Hartley.

- Enables the federal government to move in and demand an 80-day cooling
off period if it deems a strike to be detrimental to the national
interest.

The Act sent a clear message to employers: It is OK to bust unions and
deny workers their rights to collectively bargain. Today, union
membership is at historic 60-year lows, employer violations of labor
rights are routine, and illegal firings of union supporters in labor
organizing drives are at epidemic levels.

The advent of unions created a balance in bargaining power between
‘producers’ of labor (workers) and purchasers of labor (employers),
providing for fairer conditions overall. The attempted destruction of
unions through Taft-Hartley and recent political moves against public
employee unions represents a scary step backwards in American history.
On labor issues, the Republicans are essentially a lost cause, preferring to regularly side with the owners and investors of businesses at the expense of common workers.

But Democrats have not been appreciably better.

The Taft-Hartley Act passed in 1947 with majority support of
the Democratic majority in Congress.

Under Truman in 1949, the Democrats failed to repeal Taft-Hartley.
Under Johnson in 1965 and 1966, the Democrats twice failed to repeal
Section 14b of Taft-Hartley, the section that enabled states to outlaw
union shops (so-called “right-to-work” laws).
Under Carter in 1977 and 1978, the Democrats failed to pass one bill
that would have repealed the Taft-Hartley prohibition on solidarity
picketing at construction sites and another bill to reform the National
Labor Relations Board whose long delays and inconsequential employer
sanctions had made it a shield for union-busting.
Under Clinton in 1993, the Democrats failed to pass a ban on permanent striker replacements.
Under Obama in 2009-2010, the Democrats failed to pass the Employee
Free Choice Act for majority card check union recognition. Worse, unlike
any previous period of Democratic majorities in both houses of
Congress, the Democrats failed to even bring the bill to a vote.
Republicans claim that Democrats have been 'captured' by 'big union bosses.' Democrats promise to deliver in campaign appearances, but those promises have amounted to little more than empty lip-service.

It’s time for hardball politics if Labor - and the middle class - is to survive in this nation.